Foldaway stairway



May 2, 1950 J. P. MYERS FOLDAWAY STAIRWAY 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 27, 1946 r o t H m.. 1 u I fof/NEM/EAS.

J. P. MYERS FOLDAWAY STAIRWAY May 2, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 27, 1946 4latented May 2, 1950 UNITE-D... vSI'lfJEZS: flE,

.EQLDAWAY STAlawful4 John P.-Myers, ortsmouthglv.

, Applicationfseptember.27, 1946,, SeriaLN 1e-@$833.-

(Cl. 22S-51k This invention relates to improvements in foldaway stairways'.;l

An object of the invention is to provide an improved foldaway stairway whichwill be concealed by a hinged trap door in a ceiling, and located in an opening;zin ;the.5=fioor.joistszoi,an upper loor,

whereby.the trap door may ,beswung downwardly/ and- .the .xv foldaway stairway swungadownnnto., a straightlineto extend to theilogor. levelof; the

lQWeiioorlofsa house to permitaperson to,ascend the stairway from the lower oor to the upper oor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved foldaway stairway.,.comprisinghinged sections pivotally supported in a well formed in the iioor joists of an upperrfloor, the same being held in closed or folded position by means of a coil spring, and being suitably tied to a hinged trap door by a sliding tether, whereby when said trap door is opened, the stairway will be simultaneously opened.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved collapsible and disappearing foldaway stairway which will be highly ecient in operation, and relatively inexpensive to manu facture and produce.

' Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this application,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the foldaway stairway showing the same in retracted or concealed position;

Figure 2 is a detailed sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a vertical sectional view through the foldaway stairway showing the same being'partially open and with the trap door in opened or lowered pbsition;

Figure 4 is an enlarged detail viewof one of the stairway hinge members with spring supporting rope guide thereon;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the lower stairway section showing the guide rod for the trap door connecting tether rope, and

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view through the foldaway stairway in open or lowered position.

Like characters of reference are used throughout the following specication and the accompanying drawings to designate corresponding parts.

In carrying out the invention, there is provided an improved foldaway stairway adapted to be positioned or housed in a substantially rectangular well I formed in the oor joists 2 of an up- -vper iioor, the same being' closed" by a trap door,3"

potallysupnort thermssshaft 'oraxlei thieme between...

The upper section of the foldaway stairwayis. generally .denotedl1 by.,ihelreference, numeratea andgcomprisesthesnacedtnarallell ,extending 11u11:

'ners I0 and interconnectednstair treadsAsesv ired therebetween andgbracedby ,the cross meats' Metalbracnerstrirsil 3 will beseeuredte the. outer sides of the upper ends of said runners I6' and are apertured to receive and support the shaft or axle 8 which extends between said runners li! and into the bracket members 6.

Posts I4 and I5 are respectively supported by the upper floor and on the lower end of the upper stairway section 9, and the upper ends thereof are connected by means of the chain I6 which serves as a hand rail when ascending or descending the stairway.

An arcuate channeled guide member I1 is secured to the axle 8 at the pivoted end of the stairway section 9, and supports an end of the rope i8 which is secured at its opposite end to one end of the heavy coil spring I9 xed to the bracket 20 screwed to one side of the well I, whereby the coil spring will be distended when the stairway is lowered, and will be contracted when the stairway is in its raised position.

The lower section of the foldaway stairway is generally designated by the reference numeral 2 I, and comprises the spaced parallel runners 22 and connecting stair treads 23 which are braced by the cleats 24.

An arcuate hand rail 25 is secured to one runner 22 on the same side of the stairway with the hand chain I6.

The adjacent ends of the stairway sections 9 and 2i are pivotally connected together by means of the heavy strap hinges 26 secured to the runners by means of the screws or bolts 21.

A longitudinally extending guide rod 28 is attached to one end of the runner 22 to extend in parallel spaced relation thereto, and supports a ring 29 to which the tether rope 3B is attached, the opposite end of said rope 30 being attached to a hook 3| in the upper surface of the hinged trap door 3.

A screw eye 32 will be secured in the lower surface of the trap door 3 at the end remote from its hinge 4 and will support a depending stairway opening rope 33 which will extend downwardly within reach of a person on the lower iioor, whereby when it is desired to open and lower the foldaway stairway, it is only necessary to pull down on the rope 33, thereby lowering the trap door 3 and pulling the hinged sections of the stairway downwardly against the action of the coil spring I9 until the sections 9 and 2| are in alignment and extend to the floor level of the lower floor of the building, at which time the stairway may be ascended. When it is desired to retract the stairway, it is only necessary to push upwardly on the same, and the distended coil spring will pull the folded or hinged sections of said stairway into their inoperative position and again close the trap door 3.

From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that there has been devised and provided a highly eflicient foldaway stairway which may be manufactured and produced at a relatively low cost.

While the preferred embodiment of the instant invention has been illustrated and described, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the scope of the invention thereto, as many minor changes in detail of construction may be resorted to without departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A foldable stairway mountable in an opening in a ceiling which receives the stairway when folded comprising; an upper and lower pivoted stair section, a trap door covering said opening, supporting brackets secured in said opening, a pivot member journalled in said brackets for pivotally supporting the upper section, a guide element on said pivot member and disposed in the opening, resilient means connected between said guide element and a, wall of said opening for biasing the upper section into said opening, a post vertically mounted adjacent to the opening, a similar post carried by the upper section and a flexible member connected between the posts for limiting the downward movement of the upper section, a guide rod supported on the lower section, a ring slidably supported thereon, a tether rope secured to said ring and to the trap door for moving said lower section downward in response to the opening of the trap door, and means for aligning said upper and lower sections when in lowered operative placement.

JOHN P. MYERS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,636,279 Bessler July 19, 1927 1,811,820 Bessler June 23, 1931 2,095,392 Marschke Oct. 12, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 655,160 Germany Jan. 11, 1938 

